Coming Back
by PygmyCritter
Summary: Jess returns to Stars Hollow with a surprise for his mother and Luke.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first attempt at Gilmore Girls fic, so any feed back, positive or negative, is welcome. Also, this will be a Jess/OC fic, and there will be a teensie bit of Dean hate. He was my least favorite character. Thanks ahead of time to any and all who read!**

* * *

Jess walked into the small apartment and tossed his jacket onto the worn old sofa and turned and headed for the kitchen. He glanced at the dining room table as he passed by and saw a pile of papers sitting there. He stopped as he just got into the kitchen, and backed back out and looked more closely at the papers. Real estate flyers. Connecticut. More precisely, Stars Hollow. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Hey, Cal?" he called out as he picked up one of the listings.

"Yeah?" a dark haired head popped out from around the door to the bedroom.

"What's all this?" he asked, holding up the paper.

"Oh, that." she said with a coy smile as she walked out and took the paper from him. "Just some stuff I printed off the net." she shrugged.

"They're all Stars Hollow listings." he pointed out.

"Are they?" she asked, feigning surprise. "Well, look at that."

"Why are you looking at houses in Stars Hollow?" he asked.

"Because, Jess, with my parents moving down to Mexico, and my brother going off to Seattle, I think we should have some family near by." she said as she looked over the houses again.

"My family is in Stars Hollow."

"Yes, this I already knew." she said slowly, looking up from the listing. "You owe me."

"What?"

"I moved here all the way from Michigan just to be with you." she reminded him.

How could he forget? She'd been the only steady girl since Rory. They'd met when she was visiting Philly with some friends, they'd hit it off, she moved there from some tiny little town, and there they were, two years later.

"I know." he sighed.

"And you remember what you told me?" she asked as she sat on the edge of the dining room table.

"That after a bit, I might consider moving away from Philly." he groaned.

"Exactly." she smiled. "You also said that since I'd made the sacrifice of leaving my family, that when we moved, I'd get to choose." she chirped.

"And now you want to move to Stars Hollow?" he asked. "Come on, Cal, there are a lot of other cities."

"Not where one of our families lives." she pointed out. "I want us to be near at least one of our families."

"I don't know about this." he said as he leaned against the table, staring at one of the listings. "I've got my store here..."

"And you know the guys could take care of it." she said. "And, its not too much of a trip by train once a week or so. Besides, the bookstore in Stars Hollow is for sale."

"First of all, I probably couldn't afford the place, besides, it's not really a literary mecca there." he argued.

"Well, as to whether or not you could afford it, my dad..."

"No, I'm not gonna let your dad buy anything." he said, shaking his head.

"He meant it as a gift." she reminded him.

"I know, he wants to make sure his only daughter is well looked after." he said. "But, I don't want to be indebted to your dad."

"Okay." she said, hopping down from the table. "How about we make a deal." she added, looking up at him with her dark green eyes.

"What kind of deal?" he asked warily.

"We're going there next week to tell your mom and uncle the good news, right?" she said, smiling as he nodded.

"Okay then, while we're there, we can see a house or two, an apartment or two, and see if the place still gives you the heebie jeebies. Deal?"

"Fine." he sighed. "You know, batting your eyelashes shouldn't work on me."

"But, it does." she said with a big smile. "Thank you!" she added hugging him.

* * *

"I'm so nervous." Liz said as she paced back and forth in front of the counter at Luke's.

"Yeah, I see that." Luke remarked dryly. "Will ya please just sit down?"

"What do you think he wants to tell us?" she asked, sitting down on one of the stools.

"I don't know." he replied. "We'll find out when he gets here."

Luke wasn't about to admit to his younger sister that he had been driving himself crazy trying to figure out what Jess wanted to talk to them about. Lorelai had jokingly mentioned Jess getting married, but he had laughed at the idea. Granted Jess had been with the same girl for two years, they lived together, but to this day neither he nor his sister had ever set eyes on the girl. No, he could not see Jess getting married.

"What time is he supposed to be here?" he asked as he wiped down the counter.

"Around two." she said as she bit her nails. "You don't think he got her pregnant, do you?"

"What?"

"This girl." she said impatiently. "I mean, you don't think that's why he wants to see us, do you?"

"She's not ready to be a grandma yet." T.J. said as he walked in just in time to hear his wife's last question. "She's been freakin' out since the kid called and said he wanted to talk to you two."

"Its almost two." Liz said as she glared at her husband. "He should be here soon."

"What kind of car does he drive?" Luke asked as he watched outside the diner.

"I don't know." she shrugged. "I never thought to ask."

"Well, I'd guess he's driving a silver Accord." T.J. said, turning and following Luke's gaze.

"What?" Liz said, swinging around on her stool. "Oh God, he's here."

"Is that the girl he's shackin' up with?" T.J. asked as Jess stepped around the front of the car and waited for a short brunette to get out.

"I guess so." Liz shrugged. "She's cute." she said, looking closely at the girl. "She kinda looks like Lorelai's girl."

"Yeah, she does." Luke said as he watched the pair walk through the door.

"Hey, baby." Liz said as she got to her feet and hugged her son.

"Hey." he replied as he stepped back, glaring at the laughing girl at his side. "This is Callie, Callie, this is everyone."

"Okay, looks like I'm playing a game guessing who you all are." Callie said. "Well, obviously, you're Liz." she said with a smile. "And, you must be T.J., the step father, which makes you Luke." she looked at all of them. "Am I right?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, you are." Liz nodded.

"Why are you in such a mood?" T.J. asked Jess.

"He got lost and I made him stop and buy a map." Callie answered.

"You got lost?" Luke asked. "You've done that drive a few times at least."

"Well, with all of that stupid construction." Jess explained. "They have detours going all over the place."

"And you don't have at least one map in the car?" Luke asked.

"No, I don't usually have to, because I know where I'm going." Jess replied.

"I think the drives made him cranky." Callie said, jabbing Jess in the ribs.

"Oh yeah, long drive." Liz said. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Nope." both Jess and Callie replied.

"Sit down, and order something then." Luke said.

"You're the health food junkie, right?" Callie asked as she looked over the menu.

"I like to eat well." he nodded.

"Not me." she said. "I'll take the bacon cheeseburger and fries, with a coke." she decided.

"Another one?" Luke asked Jess.

"They seem to like me." he shrugged.

"What?" Liz asked in confusion.

"I think they're talking about Jess's ex, she ate like crazy too, I've heard." Callie informed her.

"Oh, you know about his exes?" T.J. asked after he ordered.

"Yeah." she nodded. "Apparently we look a bit alike too."

"You do." Liz said with a laugh. "That's what I thought when I saw you get out of the car."

Jess sat in his seat and listened as his mother and Callie talked and talked. He excused himself and joined Luke behind the counter, eager to be away from the girl talk that he knew was coming.

"She's nice." Luke said.

"Yeah, so I've noticed." Jess nodded as he watched the two women.

"Your mom was afraid that your visit is to tell her she's gonna be a grandma." Luke informed him.

"Not yet." Jess chuckled.

"What?" Luke asked in surprise.

"We're getting married." Jess said after taking a deep breath.

"Not because she's..."

"She's not pregnant." he sighed.

"You're getting married." Luke smiled.

"Two years, living together, a few fights, practically married as it is." he shrugged. "Why not add the piece of paper?"

"Wow." Luke said, still smiling. "You're getting married."

"You're not gonna hug me, are you?" Jess asked, moving back a bit. "Because, I might have changed some, but not that much."

"No, don't worry." Luke assured him. "You've come a long way, that's all."

"No good punk that everyone hated, to a business man and soon to be husband." he nodded.

"You're sure, right?" Luke asked as he filled glasses with ice. "You're not trying to replace..."

"I'm over Rory." he assured him. "Have been for a while, we're even friends. Any resemblance between Rory and Cal is completely coincidental."

"Good." Luke smiled. "I'm proud of you, I don't mean to sound corny, but, I am, I really am."

"Thanks." Jess smiled.

"Oh my God!" Liz shouted. "My baby's getting married!" she said as she rushed behind the counter and grabbed him into a bear hug.

"I thought we weren't going to say anything til later, Cal." Jess said as he tried to pry his mother off.

"I forgot to take my ring off." she shrugged.

"I'm not going to be a grandmother right, that's not why..."

"No, no babies for now." he promised.

"You turned out so well." she said, tears beginning to fall. "Thank goodness, I was afraid for a while I'd really screwed you up and you were gonna end up in prison somewhere."

"Gee, thanks." he remarked.

"What you should do now is move here, that way when you have kids, we can see them all the time." T.J. said.

"Yeah, that's a thought." Jess said.

"Actually," Callie said as she opened her purse. "We have an appointment or two over the next week."

"Oh, are you moving here?" Liz asked, unable to contain her tears at all at that point.

"Maybe, we don't really know." Jess said.

"Oh, what a day." Liz smiled. "I learn that I'm getting a daughter-in-law and now, my boy is gonna be moving here, so we can all be together."

"Welcome home." Luke whispered to Jess as Liz moved back to the table to inspect the ring and look over some of the places Jess and Callie would be looking at.

"Thanks." he replied as he watched the scene before him with dread.

Callie looked up and smiled and he knew he was screwed. He knew that smile and he knew he was powerless to deny her anything when she brought out that smile. He was thankful she did it only once in a very great while. He sighed as he realized, he was going to be back in Stars Hollow.


	2. Chapter 2

"This place is at least twice the size of that little place in Philly." Callie whispered to Jess as they stood in the kitchen of the fourth apartment they'd looked at.

"Yeah, its pretty nice." he nodded.

"Well, how do you like it?" the Realtor asked with a smile.

"Can you give us just a minute?" Callie asked.

"Of course, I'll wait for you downstairs." the woman said with yet another smile.

"There is no way a normal person should smile that much." Jess said after she'd left. "Its not natural."

"Uh huh." Callie said as she watched him look around the room. "Do you really, really, deep down hate the idea of coming back here?"

"Its just weird." he replied. "Its been a while since I left, and coming back just seems, I don't know." he shrugged as he kicked the baseboard in the dining room.

"If you're going to be absolutely miserable, then we shouldn't move here." she said as she stepped behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"You want to move here." he reminded her.

"I want out of Philly." she corrected him. "I just thought that this place isn't too far from some of the bigger cities, and you have family here."

"I owe you, remember?" he said, turning around. "You weren't too gung-ho on moving to Philly, but you did it, so its time I returned the favor."

"You're sure?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm sure." he nodded.

"So, we can get this place?" she asked eagerly.

"Let's go sign some papers." he laughed.

* * *

"I'm just saying, you could have left at least some hot water." Rory said as she and her mother walked along on their way to Luke's.

"It's cold, I was cold, the hot water felt good." Lorelai replied with a mischievous grin.

"But I was cold, too." she whined.

"Ah, but a wise man once said, "You snooze, you lose.", and I think that at this moment, those are very good words."

"You're mean." Rory said. "To try to freeze your own, and your only, child like that."

"Hey, you're twenty-four, its not like you're helpless, its not as though that little bit of hot water is all that stood between you and death." Lorelai said as they stopped to wait for traffic across the street from the diner. "Its not as though I left an infant to fend for itself."

"That early in the morning, its the same thing." Rory argued as they stepped onto the corner.

"Hey, is that Jess?" Lorelai asked, pointing to the dark haired couple just coming out of a building down the street.

"Yeah, that's him, and that must be Callie." Rory said as she waved to the pair.

"Callie?"

"His girlfriend." she answered. "Been together for about two years now."

"Well, aren't we knowledgeable." Lorelai commented. "How do you know all this?"

"Jess and I are friends, remember?" Rory answered as they sat at the nearest table. "We keep in touch, meet up now and then for coffee, that kind of stuff."

"Slipped my mind." she shrugged. "I also forgot that Jess was even going to be in Stars Hollow."

"Your fiance's nephew is in town and you forgot." Rory shook her head. "Tisk tisk on you mother."

"I've been busy." Lorelai defended herself.

"That and old age is starting to set in." Rory laughed. "So old."

"You're never getting a hot shower the rest of you visit."

"I can go over to Lane's, or Sookie's, or..." Rory went on.

"Fine then, I'll have to think of something else to punish you with." Lorelai said, holding up her hands in mock surrender.

"Do you two know what you want?" Luke asked as he filled their coffee cups.

"BLT, french fries, large ice tea, and a piece of pie for dessert." Lorelai smiled.

"Same here." Rory added.

"So, Jess's girlfriend came with him." Lorelai said as Luke wrote down the orders. "Is she evil?"

"She's actually his fiancee it turns out, and no, she's not." he answered, tucking his pencil behind his ear.

"Ha!" Lorelai shouted, spooking Rory.

"Hot coffee over here." she said as she wiped up some coffee.

"Sorry." Lorelai laughed. "I told you." she said, pointing at Luke.

"That doesn't count." he argued. "You said it as a joke."

"But I said it, and it's true, so I was right." she argued back.

"What?" Rory asked.

"When look said that Jess was visiting, and that he had something to tell him and Liz, I said he was getting married." she explained.

"You were joking, so it doesn't count." Luke repeated as he turned and headed back to the kitchen.

"Whoa." Rory said. "He's getting married."

"Kinda weird?" Lorelai asked.

"A little, yeah." she admitted. "Ooh, here they come."

Callie walked through the door, holding it open for Jess behind her and stopped and stared at the two women at the table near the window who were watching them with a freakish sort of amusement.

"Who are they?" she whispered to Jess.

"Rory and her mom." he answered.

"Oh, yeah, I recognize her now." she said, remembering the picture Rory had sent Jess when she was on a trip to China with some friends.

"Hey, Jess." Rory said as she waved from her table.

"Hey." he said as he and Callie walked over. "Callie, this is Rory, and her mom, Lorelai. She's also Luke's fiancee."

"Hi." Callie said with a smile.

"Hi." Lorelai replied.

"You guys here for lunch?" Rory asked. "Sit with us." she said when they nodded.

"Thanks." Callie said.

"So, out seeing the sites?" Lorelai asked.

"Apartments, actually." Callie answered.

"Apartments?" Rory asked. "You're moving here?"

"Yup." Jess nodded. "We thought, mostly Cal actually, that once we get married, it'd be nice to have family around."

"Luke just told us your good news." Lorelai said, trying to make pleasant conversation, even she did have some ill feelings towards Jess still. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." he nodded.

"So, any luck?" Rory asked.

"We just signed the papers on one." Callie said happily. "Over on Cherry."

"Nice places over there." Lorelai said.

The three women soon forgot Jess was even at the table when the conversation turned to decorating the new apartment, the best colors for kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. Jess sighed with relief when finally, after two long hours, he and Callie got to their feet to go meet Liz back at her house, but not until after Rory and Callie made plans to go shopping. He wasn't sure if he liked that idea, but said nothing.

* * *

Jess stood in the kitchen of his new apartment, Callie was off shopping with Rory, and Luke and Lorelai were coming over for dinner. He had been hoping that Callie would be home in time to start the dinner, but no such luck. He'd gotten much better with cooking since he gotten with her, but she was still the better cook. He stirred the sauce once more and placed the lid back on the pot and went to answer the door, where someone was knocking, no doubt Luke and Lorelai.

"Hey." he said as he opened to find Lorelai standing by herself. "Where's Luke?"

"Caesar set a small fire, he had to deal with it, so I came ahead of him." she explained.

"Oh, come on in." he said, standing aside to allow her to pass. "Cal and Rory aren't back yet, got too busy shopping I guess."

"Do you want me to come back later then?" Lorelai asked, not feeling to eager to sit alone in the apartment with Jess.

"No, that's okay." he assured her. "Do you want something to drink?" he asked.

"Wine would be good." she nodded.

"Go ahead and sit down, I just need to check the sauce again real quick."

"Great." she said as she sat down in a very floral living room.

Pink flowers on the curtains, large blue flowers on the sofa, purple and yellow ones on lacey throw pillows. It looked like a garden had puked in the room.

"Really like the decor." she said when he came in and handed her the wine.

"No you don't." he shook his head. "Neither of us like it."

"Then why have it like this?" she asked.

"Cal asked me to help pick out some stuff, I told her I didn't care, whatever was fine..."

"So she dumped an English garden in your apartment." Lorelai nodded in understanding.

"I'm taking those little paint samples much more seriously now." he said.

"I bet." she said, as she set her wine glass down and stared at the coffee table.

"I was a coward." he suddenly said, breaking their awkward silence.

"Excuse me?"

"When I took off the last time, I was a coward." he said. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me." she said. "Rory's good with it now."

"I do know you well enough to know that when Rory's hurt, you are too." he said. "I need to say that I'm sorry for how I handled things. I just couldn't deal with letting both her and Luke down."

"So that's why you did it." she said. "Well, it took a lot of guts for you to admit that. It does make me feel a little better to hear you say the words."

"Good." he said, getting to his feet. "I forgot to put the bread in the oven."

"Since when do you cook?"

"Since Cal taught me to." he called back. "Her mother is friggin' Betty Crocker, so she taught Cal, she taught me."

"Oh, sorry we're late." Callie called from the front door. "Where's Luke?"

"Fire at the diner." Lorelai answered.

"Nothing big, right?" Rory asked as she stumbled in behind Callie with a handful of bags.

"No, just a little grease fire." her mother assured her as she took a bag or two.

"What all did you buy?" Jess asked as he came out and took Callie's bags.

"Just a few things." she said.

"Mom, you would not believe the store Callie took me to." Rory said as she sat down on the overstuffed sofa. "Everything coffee."

"You went to heaven?" Lorelai asked.

"Pretty much." Rory nodded.

"Everything there is coffee related somehow. Coffee candles, air fresheners, insense, they even sell coffee scented filters for your furnace." Callie said as she pulled on an apron.

"I got some for you." Rory said with a smile. "And they have all kinds of coffee. French coffee house blends, Colombian, Jamaican Blue Mountain, everything."

"You a big coffee fan?" Lorelai asked.

"Nope." Callie shook her head. "But, I thought you two might get a kick out of the place."

"Jealous?" Lorelai asked Rory as she opened another candle.

"No." Rory said. "I like her, she's nice, and funny."

"I'd date her." she nodded.

"So would I, but, alas, she's taken." Rory sighed.

"Luke's here, dinner will be out soon." Jess said as he ushered everyone to the dining table.

Rory started laughing, causing Lorelai to follow suit. Jess stared at them, and then to Luke who just shrugged in confusion.

"What's so funny?" Callie asked as she took her own seat.

"Jess is hosting a dinner party." Rory cracked up.


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm on my way to pick up the Indian food." Rory said as she turned the corner towards the Indian restaurant. "You have the Cheetos and the pop-tarts, right?"

"It wouldn't be a proper girl's movie night if I didn't, would it?" Lorelai replied. "Can you pick up some Twinkies, Red Vines and peanut butter?"

"I'm passing Doose's right now." Rory said as she opened the door to the small grocery store. "Anything else?"

"Plastic wrap and toothpicks."

"What?" she asked. "What do those have to do with a proper girl's movie night?"

"Nothing, but Sookie needs plastic wrap and Callie needs the toothpicks, and you're so conveniently located at the moment..."

"Fine." she sighed. "I'm hanging up, getting this stuff, then the Indian food, after that, the phone will not be answered again." she warned.

"That's just dandy." Lorelai said as she set down a bag of chips. "We'll just send you out later if we think of anything else."

"Good bye." Rory said as she flipped her phone shut and did her shopping.

She was looking into the bags to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything and ran into someone. Looking up she began to make her apologies.

"Dean." she said in shock as she stared up at the familiar face.

"Rory." he said, tucking his hands into his jeans pockets.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Clara's birthday." he replied. "That, and just visiting."

"Oh, I see." she said. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I've gotta go pick up some food, I've got a houseful of hungry women waiting to start movie night."

"Houseful?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah." she said, adjusting the bags in her hands. "My mom, Sookie, Lane and Callie."

"Who is Callie?" he asked.

"A friend of mine." she answered. "Jess' fiancee actually."

"Jess?" he laughed. "Jess Mariano is getting married?" he laughed again. "She must be hard pressed."

"And why is that?" Rory asked, her annoyance obvious.

"She's marrying a loser." he replied without hesitating.

"I've gotta go, Dean." she said, turning.

"Rory, come on." he said as he began to follow.

"I've got to pick up the food." she said, not looking back. "Wish Clara a happy birthday for me."

* * *

"Well, he's never liked Jess." Lorelai said as she and Rory gathered plates and silverware.

"I know, but it's been a really long time since he's seen him, so he doesn't really have any right to say that." Rory argued as she stabbed a piece of chicken and tossed it on a plate.

"Boy, he really got you angry." she said as she took the fork from Rory and set it aside.

"I know Jess was a jerk sometimes, but he doesn't know what Jess is like now, or even how nice he could be then." Rory said as she reached for the fork again.

"Well, you did know him then, and you know him now, so don't worry about it." Lorelai said as she picked up two of the plates.

"Should I say something to Jess or Callie?"

"Why?" Lorelai asked. "Jess hates Dean, and Callie doesn't even know him, so she'd start off hating him just for this tonight. Dean will be leaving again soon anyway." she shook her head. "Just let it go."

"Fine." Rory sighed. "Still makes me mad though. And even with all that's happened, I don't like being mad at Dean."

"I know." Lorelai replied. "Come on, we'll go watch _To Wang Fu, _and we will marvel at how good Patrick Swayze looks as a woman, and you'll feel oh, so much better."

"He does make a freakishly attractive woman." Rory agreed.

"I know, who would have thought watching _Dirty Dancing _that you would ever say that?"

* * *

"Michel, why were the Adams' standing at the front desk, no one to help them?" Lorelai asked as she walked into the kitchen for her fifth cup of coffee that morning.

"Because they are loud, their children even louder, and they have a smell about them." Michel answered as he leaned against the counter, sipping from a bottle of imported water.

"They don't have a smell." she argued, yet again. "And you do not get to choose who you greet at the front desk, and you who don't."

"It appears as though I have." he smiled. "I will go now, back to the front desk where I will begin opening the windows, spraying something to rid my area of the lingering odor." he said as he left.

"Were all the French people you came across like him?" Sookie asked as she emptied a cutting board of parsley into a large pot.

"Sadly, yes." she said. "At least I think they were, but it was better there. Most of them sneered at us in French, so I was oblivious to their insults."

"Maybe we can get Michel to just speak in French all the time." Sookie suggested.

"Lorelai." Michel's voice drifted into the kitchen. "Some men are here to repair those floors upstairs."

"Finally." she said as she drained her cup and headed out to meet them. "Where are they, Michel?" she asked when she saw nothing but an empty reception area.

"I sent them up to the rooms." he said. "I told them to shut the doors so as not to frighten our guests."

"Well the scary repairmen would be a good way to get rid of the smelly guests." she joked.

"I'll keep that in mind in the future." he smiled. "You're full of such wonderful ideas."

Lorelai took a deep breath and headed upstairs. The place wouldn't be the same without him, she told herself. Although, it would be more peaceful, she thought.

"Hello?" she called as she opened the door to room 4.

"Hi." Dean's voice said from the far side of the room.

"Dean." she said. "What are you doing up here?"

"Tom asked me if I wanted to make a little bit of money while I was visiting, and I said yes." he shrugged.

"Oh, I see." she said. "I'm going to go find Tom then."

"What are the chances of Rory talking to me again while I'm here?" he asked before she could leave.

"I don't know." she said as she stopped at the door. "She was pretty peeved last night."

"I dont' know why she even cares, I mean, he treated her like dirt." he said. "It's not like I said anything that wasn't true."

"Well, Callie isn't desperate first off." Lorelai argued. "And well, Jess isn't really the same annoying kid he used to be."

"What, now you're on the Jess bandwagon?" he asked as he shook his head. "What's the world coming to?"

"I can't believe I'm getting ready to do this." she said as she closed her eyes and inhaled.

"What?"

"Defend Jess." she answered. "I never thought I'd be doing this, but, here I am."

"So now you two are such great friends, even though he just ditched Rory like that?" he asked.

"No, I'm still just a little pissed at him for that, Dean, but at least he only ditched her once." she snapped. "You did it to her three damn times!"

"I never went off without a word."

"No, you just humiliated her in front of people twice, and the first time you dumped her because she wasn't quick enough is saying "I love you." Do you have any idea what you did to her any of those times?"

"Rory doesn't seem to hold it against me." he said quietly.

"No, because Rory is nice, sometimes too nice." Lorelai said. "And you can understand why she can forgive you, or at least not be openly hostile, but you can't understand why she's mad at you making those snide little remarks about someone you don't know?"

"Jess is..."

"Jess is screwed up in some ways." she interrupted. "But I will give him credit for trying. He's changed so much since he left Rory, but you, you hurt her three times, mostly because you were too insecure that you couldn't handle it, being with someone as great as she is, and listening to you right now, I'm guessing you haven't changed much at all."

"I thought you liked me?" he said in surprise at her words and the anger and hostility behind them.

"I used to." she said. "When you were the sweet guy who thought of her first, and would do anything to make her happy." she looked down at the floor and caught her breath. "I think its best that you just go, Dean. I don't think you helping Tom here is going to do anyone any good."

"Fine." he said as he grabbed his tool belt. "Don't need the money that much anyways."


	4. Chapter 4

Jess walked along, couting the money he'd just taken out of the bank. You had to count it, you never knew when they'd either shortchange you, or give you too much. It would throw things out of balance, and the neurotic Callie could not have that. He laughed as he remembered the last time the bank teller had given him too much, and their check book was out of balance.

"So, what, did you pay them off?" Dean's voice broke into Jess' amusing thoughts.

"Excuse me?" Jess asked, as he looked up to see Dean stading in front of him.

"Rory and Lorelai." he explained. "Did you pay 'em off to jump to your defense?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jess said, walking past him.

"Do you have some sort of dirt on this Callie, or is she really needy?" Dean called after him.

"What the hell is your problem?" Jess asked, turning around and looking up at the taller man.

"You are, you always have been."

"Look, I'm in a good mood." Jess said. "I don't really feel like killing that mood by getting into a fight with you about stuff that happened years ago."

"No, of course not, because you're now the perfect one." Dean mocked. "Such a good job, a wonderful fiancee, you've worked so hard and become such a good guy."

"I'm done with this." Jess said, turning and walking off.

"Running away, just like you did to Rory." Dean taunted.

"You know what?" Jess said, turning back around. "You're right, I scewed up with Rory, but she and I have worked that out, and I think I've begun working it out with her mom, and it's none of your damn business, so just shut the hell up."

"This girl is gonna regret ever having met you." Dean said, a satisfied grin on his face. "And you'll be alone again."

"Right, I won't have a jumping social life like you." Jess snapped. "Let's see, you dumped Rory twice before cheating on your wife with her, then you dumped her again. And what now, big guy, you got another wife you're cheating on? Or maybe you're here hiding out from the most recent girlfriend you bailed on."

"Jess." Callie's voice cut in. "What's goin' on, babe?"

"Nothing, just catching up." he answered as she came to stand at his side.

"A not a friend of yours I assume." she said, looking back and forth between the two.

"No, not really." he said.

"We're having dinner at Luke's." she reminded him. "Do you wanna go home and change before then?"

"Yeah." he said. "I've gotta go, Dean, but it was so nice having this little chat."

"Good luck with marrying this creep." Dean said as he turned and stalked off.

"If I hadn't come by just now you two would be rolling around in the street beating the living crap out of one another, wouldn't you?" Callie asked as Jess held her hand and they began the walk back home.

"Maybe." he shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe." she rolled her eyes. "Does he live here in town?"

"I don't think so." he answered.

"Good." she said with a smile. "Having to bail you out whatever this place has for a jail would get old after a trip or two."

"We'd be the talk of the town." he said.

"We already are." she laughed. "I swear, the people around here know more about you than I do, and they seem to be getting more and more on me."

"I can only imagine the wonderful things they've been saying about me." he remarked. "You're not getting ready to ditch me, are ya?"

"Oh, I'm this close to losing you and stealing Kirk away from Lulu." she joked.

"I hope you're happy together." he said with a smile. "Although, I hear you might want to be careful at night."

"Does he turn into a vampire?" she asked.

"No, but apparently he has night terrors in the nude."

"Oh, thank you so much for that image." she shuddered. "Eww, now I've a naked Kirk dancing around in my mind."

"You're welcome." he laughed.

--

"Hey, I've gotta run to the post office." Callie called as Jess stepped out of the shower. "I'll meet you at Lorelai's."

"Okay." he called back as he wrapped a towel around himself.

He ran another towel through his hair and began to apply the various hair products that Callie teased him about. The phone rang, and swearing under his breath, he cleaned off his hands and answered.

"Is this Jess Mariano?" a man's voice asked.

"Yeah." he replied. "Look, if you're trying to sell anything, I'm not interested." he said, getting ready to replace the phone.

"No, no, Mr. Mariano," the man said quickly, hoping to stop Jess from hanging up. "I'm calling in regards to your refrences and body of work. My name is Carl Paulson."

"What?"

"The samples of your work." the man repeated.

"How did you get any of my work?" Jess asked.

"Robert sent it along to me, and we're very interested." Paulson replied.

"Robert? Robert Lindstrom?" Jess asked trying to keep his temper.

"Yes, Robert and I go back a long way. He told me that you're a pretty good writer, and that you have experience in proof reading..."

"I'm not interested." Jess cut him off. "Thank you, but no thanks."

"Mr. Mariano, please, hear me out, this is a great opportunity." Paulson tried to convince Jess.

"I'm not interested." Jess repeated.

"Take some time to think about it." Paulson urged him. "My number is..."

"I have caller ID." Jess said before hanging up the phone.

--

"You just missed Lorelai trying to cook." Callie laughed as Jess walked in.

"That must have been something." he said cooly.

"We'll be eating in about fifteen minutes." Luke said as he handed Jess a beer.

"Thanks." Jess said, taking the beer, but not taking his eyes off Callie.

"What's wrong?" she asked when Luke had disappeared back into the kitchen.

"I got a call from a Carl Paulson." he said as he took a swig.

"Carl Paulson?" she asked, the name not sounding familiar.

"An old buddy of your dad's." he said. "Ring any bells?"

"Oh, yeah, it does." she said as she sat down and put her wine glass on the table beside her.

"How did your dad get any of my stuff to send off to him?" he asked, taking a seat across from her.

"I gave it to him." she answered after hesitating a minute.

"You what?"

"Carl runs a publishing company in New Haven, its small, but its good and reputible." she explained. "He thought it woudln't hurt anything to send Carl a few samples of your stuff."

"You had no right to do that, Callie." Jess said, trying to keep his voice down. "I don't want your dad doing little favors like this for me."

"Would you stop being so stubborn for a minute, Jess?" she groaned. "This is a good chance, they like your stuff, and you want to be able to write more."

"That doesn't matter." he said as he got to his feet and started pacing around the room. "If I'm going to do that, I want it to be because of me."

"It is because of you." she argued. "It's your work that they like, its your work they would want to publish." she said as she got up and stood in front of him. "My dad may have made a call, but its your talent that they're interested in."

"But they wouldn't be if it weren't for your dad." he said as he moved off.

"Jess, please, just think about it." she begged.

"There is nothing to think about." he said. "I'm not interested in doing business with any of your dad's buddies."

"Sorry, don't mean to interrupt." Lorelai said as she walked in, seeing she'd done so in the midst of an argument.

"Its fine." Jess said. "Dinner ready?"

"Yeah." she nodded, shooting a questioning look to Callie who rolled her eyes.

"I'm gonna go help Luke dish it up." he said as he walked out.

"What was that?" Lorelai asked.

"I gave my dad some of Jess's work to send to a friend of his who has a little publishing company, they offered a job to Jess, but he's mad because I didn't tell him what I was doing." she explained.

"I can see why he might be mad." Lorelai nodded.

"I know." Callie said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But, I thought it would be good for him."

"You're heart may have been in the right place..."

"But my brain was off on vacation." Callie groaned. "Now he's gonna be sulky and moody all night." she sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't apologize to me." Lorelai said.

"No, I need to apologize to Jess." she said. "I hate doing that."

"Come, Luke's lasagna will give you courage." Lorelai said, putting a reassuring arm around the younger woman.

"That and a few glasses of wine."

"I've so got that covered." Lorelai laughed.

"Maybe if I get Jess really drunk, he won't remember, and I won't have to apologize." Callie smiled.

"You really don't like admitting fault."

"Hate it." she said. "I'd rather have my teeth drilled with no pain killers."

"Not that big of a deal." Lorelai said, grimacing at the thought of what Callie had said.

"He's gonna gloat. I know he is."

"Well then, do it when you get home, I don't want him gloating and being bothersome here." Lorelai said.

"Thanks." Callie said.

"Come on, dig in." Luke said as he set a basket of garlic bread onto the table.

"You're going to be hell tonight, aren't you?" Callie whispered to Jess as she sat down.

"Yup." he nodded as he took a piece of bread.


End file.
